This invention relates generally to a trenching and edging device for digging trenches and for edging the soil for beds for flowers, shrubbery, mulch, etc.
Small trenching machines find application in those circumstances where it is necessary to dig a relatively narrow trench. This could be the case where cable TV is being buried to provide service to a residence or business, or could be when it is necessary to run a gas line, waterline, or other utility to a home or office. Further uses of such a trench could be for running irrigation line or what is known as radio or xe2x80x9cinvisiblexe2x80x9d fencing used to keep pets within a confined area, the pet then wearing a cooperating collar which is activated to shock the animal in the event the animal comes too close to the buried line.
Edging machines find use with landscapers and homeowners for defining a bed used for ornamental plantings, shrubbery, flowers, mulch, or the like and serve to form the defined edge of a bed to be created by cutting the soil to a depth, typically several inches, and then lifting the soil and moving it outwardly to form a mounded periphery for the bed. Generally, it is desirable that the turf adjacent the bed have a distinct, clean break between it and the bed. This provides for a clean definition of the bed which is desired for aesthetic and maintenance purposes.
In certain instances, use of a trencher or edging machine is complicated by the fact that such machines are large, bulky, and heavy. They may require the use of a truck or trailer for transport, and may require two or more persons in order to load or unload the machine. Once in operation, because of the size and weight of such machines, they may pose a problem for use by someone of lesser strength or stature. Further, by requiring a larger vehicle, such as a truck, or sport utility vehicle, or alternately, use of a trailer, for transport, such machines may find only limited use, and their full potential for use may not be recognized.
Trenching machines and edging machines are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,854, issued to Boren, discloses a trencher having a digging depth adjustment configuration including a rotatable handle in order to accomplish such depth adjustment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,205, issued to Falk, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,248, issued to Pollard, both disclose bed edge forming machines for forming the edge of a bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,451, issued to Garvey, et al, discloses a tiller having a cable-laying attachment and also a provision for carrying a spool of cable, and a feed tube through which the cable is inserted into a trench. U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,270, issued to Vangsgard, discloses a sod-cutting machine having an adjustable depth adjustment, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,457, issued to Doskocil, and U.S.Pat. No. 4,979,573, issued to Williamson, both disclose devices using caster wheels for steering. The Doskocil device includes rear-mounted casters.
In view of the foregoing known devices, there still exists a need for a combination trenching and edging device which is designed to facilitate movement and steering of the device and which also can be used to dig at varying depths.
A need also exists for a trenching machine and an edging machine which are relatively lightweight and of relatively compact size to allow their easy transport and use by a wide variety of users. Ideally, such machines would be small enough to fit into the trunk of an ordinary sedan and light enough to be loaded and unloaded by one or two persons of average strength.
It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide a combination trenching and edging system.
Another object of this invention is to provide an edging having readily variable digging depth adjustment capability.
Another object of this invention to provide a combination trenching and edging system having improved steerability during use.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved edging blade design.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an edging blade which, during use, defines a groove in the soil for receiving conduit, tubing, wire, or the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an edging blade having self-sharpening cutting edges.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an edging blade which forces soil outwardly from the blade during use.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a trenching machine and a method for digging a trench, laying conduit wire, cable or the like in the trench, and backfilling the trench after laying the wire or cable, all in a single pass.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a trenching machine and an edging machine which are of relatively light weight.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a trenching machine and an edging machine which are of compact size.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a trenching machine having an extendable handle which allows the trenching machine to be made compact enough to fit in the trunk of an ordinary sedan.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an edging machine having an extendable handle which allows the edging machine to be made compact enough to fit in the trunk of an ordinary sedan.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an edging machine which may be readily locked in an upper position, or alternatively, in a lowered, edging position.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a trenching blade with improved digging performance.
Generally, the present invention includes a trenching and edging system which is portable, and operable by a single user. The present invention includes a soil bed edge-forming machine, having a frame and a motor and wheels connected to the frame. A digging blade is drivingly connected to the motor, and a digging depth adjustment member is connected to the digging blade, with the adjustment member being rotatable for allowing selective digging depth adjustment of the digging blade into the soil.
More specifically, the trenching and edging machine of the present invention includes steerable casters mounted on the rear of the machine which, together with a single front wheel, allow for a tight turning radius when using the machine, thereby facilitating maneuverability of the machine. The machine also includes a blade height adjustment which allows the trenching blade or edging blade height, and, accordingly, the digging depth, to be readily adjusted in substantially infinite variation between the raised and lowermost position. The machine is further capable of digging a trench, laying wire, cable, tubing, etc., and backfilling the trench in a single pass.
Another feature of the machine is an edging blade which includes spring steel digging fingers having carbide tips. As the edging blade is used, it forms a generally perpendicular wall adjacent the edge of the bed and mounds the dirt towards the bed in an outwardly angled, tapered fashion, opposite the generally perpendicular wall. At the base of the wall, adjacent the mounded dirt, a groove is formed which is generally below the elevation of the mounded dirt. This groove can be used for the laying of cable, herbicide, pesticide, and/or fertilizer lines, irrigation lines, radio or invisible fencing for pets, etc.
Moreover, the present machine includes a blade guard system which covers the trencher blade regardless of the digging depth of the trencher blade and which also covers the blade when the blade is in the fully raised state, such as would be the case when the machine is being transported.
Another aspect of the present invention includes an edging machine and a trenching machine, both being of a compact design. Both include an extendable handle which, in a preferred embodiment retracts, or folds, to allow for the volume of space occupied by the machines to be minimized, preferably, to the extent that either of such machines can be carried in a trunk of a standard automobile. Further, each of the machines are relatively lightweight, and preferably weigh less than 100 pounds, which allows them to be loaded into, and removed from a vehicle with two, and perhaps just one person.
The trenching machine, which may also function as a device for laying cable, tubing, wire, or other similar elongated material, and includes a trenching blade designed for the compact nature of the machine.
With respect to the edger, a locking mechanism is provided which allows for the machine to be readily lowered to a locked, edging position, and then, through actuation of the locking mechanism, allows the edger to be moved from the edging position, and locked into a raised, or transport, position. This facilitates transport of the edging machine over the ground or other surfaces.